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Footballer on tour found dead

Newquay, where Luke Griffin's body was found
Newquay, where Luke Griffin's body was found
VISITBRITAIN/BRITAIN ON VIEW/GETTY

Police are investigating the death of a 20-year-old football player whose body was found washed up on a Newquay beach on Saturday morning.

Luke Griffin’s body was found by a man out walking his dog. It is believed to have been on Great Western beach all night.

Mr Griffin, from Stroud in Gloucestershire, was on an end-of-season tour with 19 team-mates from Leonard Stanley FC.

Police have spoken to two people about an altercation in a pay and display car park, but want to trace two other people who may have been in the area at the time.

They also want to contact anyone who may have seen a lone male acting “erratically” near Towan beach late on Friday night.

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He was last seen by his team-mates chatting to two girls in a bar.

His friend, Ken Roberts, described him as “a loveable rogue and a charmer” who “drank no more than most young lads his age”.

He said that the club mates met up at about 7.45pm for a pub crawl.

Mr Roberts said: “We started in the Sailors Bar and that’s where we left Luke. He was chatting up a couple of girls.

“The next morning Luke was still not back. One of our team is a teacher and got in touch with the police. They rang him back a couple of hours later after they put two and two together.” Officers told his team-mates that Mr Griffin, a midfielder, did not have any obvious marks of violence on him.

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A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall police said: “The investigation into Luke’s death has identified an incident in the pay and display car park just above the access road on to Towan Beach in Newquay.

“The police have spoken to two individuals regarding this incident but are now seeking further information about two other potential individuals who were also present in the area between 10pm and 10.30pm on Friday, June 1.

“Police are also seeking witnesses that may have been walking along the tram tracks in Newquay between 22.30 hours and 23.00 hours and saw any lone males behaving erratically.”

A post-mortem examination is being carried out by a Home Office approved pathologist at the West Cornwall Hospital at Truro to establish whether Mr Griffin drowned or was dead before he entered the water.